Tommi Parrish is a cartoonist, illustrator, and art editor from Melbourne, currently based in Montreal. Their work has appeared in various anthologies, magazines, mini comics, gallery shows in New York, Argentina, and throughout Australia, the online column Advicecomics and they were previously an art editor of the Australian literary journal The Lifted Brow. Their previous publications include Perfect Hair (2dcloud) and Perfect Discipline and Unbending Loyalty (Perfectly Acceptable Press).

About The Lie:

After a chance encounter, two formerly close friends try to salvage whatever is left of their decaying relationship. They are in for an awkward, painful night that leaves them feeling lonelier, more uncertain, and more estranged than ever before. Parrish’s first graphic novel for Fantagraphics is a visual tour de force, always in the service of the author’s ever-prevalent themes: navigating queer desire, masculinity, fear, and the ever-in-flux state of friendships.

Parrish makes emotionally loaded painted comics about everyday relationships, doubts, and anxieties. The psychological acuity in the work pairs perfectly to the graphic style. The Lie and How We Told It is a remarkably resonant work from an exciting new voice in contemporary graphic novels.

Jeff Phillips is a washed up varsity cross country skier and storefront theatre method actor. For two years he was co-host of The Liquid Burning, an apocalypse themed reading series, and for just shy of three years, he co-hosted the Chicago reading series Pungent Parlour. His short fiction has appeared in Seeding Meat, This Zine Will Change Your Life, Metazen, Chicago Literati, and Literary Orphans. He is the co-founder of Zizobotchi Papers, a literary journal dedicated to the novella and a regular contributor of short stories and essays at the site Drinkers With Writing Problems. You can find him on Twitter as @TheIglooOven or at theotherauthorjeffphillips.com

Erin Makowski has been acting and singing since her childhood. Her first production was as Gretel in ‘The Sound of Music’. Most of her younger years were spent in the Gilbert and Sullivan Company of El Paso going from the high seas in ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ to a little maid in school in Mikado. After her early schooling in the theater Erin received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College right here in Chicago. Erin has worked with many companies in town, played extras on TV and sung her heart out for Cabaret audiences.

Letters From My Exes #1 by Tiffany $2 – You’d publish letters from your ex you met at the three-day Phish festival if they were shitty enough, wouldn’t you? Or if they detailed a personal drug history? Tiffany would. The best part: the e-mail that shuts down the correspondence with “This is Mauro’s wife..we have two kids and live in brooklyn..do you know this?” A peek inside something I feel like I shouldn’t be spying on but I can’t resist. -LM

Pallor Pink Anthology vol 4 Cheers Celebration of Artists of Color $15 – An anthology of comics, art, and writing by young artists of color. Moving and personal material with an emphasis on memoir. Features a full-page foldout comic strip: “Drag But Make it About Race”. Beautifully printed in two-color risograph by Perfectly Acceptable Press. -Lane

Cherry Slimeade #1 $5

Graphic Novels

The Lie and How We Told It by Tommi Parrish (Fantagraphics) $24.99

Kitaro The Vampire Slayer by Shigeru Mizuki (D&Q) $12.95

Politics & Revolution

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Cullors $24.99 – With a foreword by Angela Davis.

Art Books

Sad Stuff On the Street by Greg Larson and Sloane Crosley (ammo) $14.99 – A sometimes humorous, yet often sad tribute to the untold stories of detritus found on the streets of cities around the world. Featuring photographs and short essays from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Amy Sedaris, Salman Rushdie, Miranda July, Michael Chabon, Ben Gibbard, Jesse Eisenberg, and by other sad stuff spotters across the globe, this collection chronicles the cast-offs of our daily lives and speculates on their origin and on their demise.

Organizing Without Organizations: Guide for People Taking Action Without Institutions $4

Humor

Trump’s ABC by Ann Telnaes (Fantagraphics) $12.99

Mags

Video Game Art Reader #1 $20 – The VGA Reader is a peer-reviewed journal for video game audiences and video game practitioners interested in the history, theory, and criticism of video games, explored through the lens of art history and visual culture. Its primary aim is to facilitate conversation and exploration of video game art, documenting and disseminating discourse about the far-reaching influence of video games on history, society, and culture.

The F***ing History of Swearing by Anna Maria Kiosse (Bis) $22.50 – Stylish, beautifully illustrated book recounts the complete history of swearing, detailing extraordinary and interesting information on this beautifully offensive topic.

Zines

Dry Spells by Veronica Graham by VA Graham $15

Living Southerners #6 by J Wu $3

Delta Dawn #1 by Erin Quinlan $3.25

Ugly Girl Gang #4 by Tuesday Bassen $10

Lost Cat Please Call Me $8

Comics & Minis

Forever and Everything #2 by Kyle $7

Grixly #42 Lil Puppy Dog by Nate McDonough $2

Lighthouse by Rohan McDonald $12

Super Old School Trolls vol 3 by Ben Marcus & friends $13

Ashcan Arcana: An Illustrated Essay on Working In the Service Industry and Living in America…by Jason Lee $5

Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (City Lights Open Media) $16.95

New Territory #5 Brave New World $15

The Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff $30

Fiction

Infinite Future: A Novel by Tim Wirkus $28

Timing the Infinite by Nathaniel Schmeling $15

Afterlives: A Novel by Thomas Pierce $27

Palaces by Simon Jacobs (Two Dollar Radio) $15.99

Recipe for Hate (The X Gang) by Warren Kinsella $14.99 – Coming of age novel by bass player from SFH and editor of the blog The War Room.

Humor

Love Voltaire Us Apart: A Philosopher’s Guide to Relationships by Julia Edelman, illustrations by Hallie Bateman $12.95 – What would Kant’s sexts look like? How would Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir break up? What would Confucius think of Tinder?